


Stupid Chemicals

by thestarsalonecantell



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Donghyuck is sassy and pretty gay, Johnny and Taeil are aged up a few years, Kyungsoo is the world's greatest professor, M/M, They’re all stupid, dongyoung’s emotions? All over the place, dotae are main pairing not jaeten, johnil are thAt power couple, taeil is an angel, ten and Yuta are great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-03-07 09:05:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13431462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestarsalonecantell/pseuds/thestarsalonecantell
Summary: Dongyoung doesn’t believe in love, but the person who walked into the wrong class seems determined to change his mind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [NCTprompts_III](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/NCTprompts_III) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Although Doyoung is a cynic who doesn't believe in love, Taeyong still falls for him.
> 
> This is such a great prompt to write for!

Today should be a normal day, right? At least, Dongyoung hopes so. What with Ten and Yuta staying at his apartment, he needs the calm routine of a normal day at university, just like any other. He's too tired for anything unexpected.

Dongyoung should really stop hoping for things, as his hopes are shattered every time. This time, it's brought crashing down by a chair being pulled out behind the desk next to his. That never happens, Dongyoung has kept it that way to ensure his solitude, but all the same, he sees someone flop into the seat next to him in his peripheral vision. He doesn't turn to look, afraid that the person will take that as an invitation to converse. That's really the last thing Dongyoung wants. Hopefully, his resting bitch face will scare the unknown person off. However, the chances of that happening dwindle as time goes on, until the professor walks in (late, which is surprising), and Dongyoung considers himself doomed.

Professor Do, a rather short man with an intimidating presence, sets his stuff down on the desk and begins the lecture with an apology. "Sorry for being late, Jongin's sick, and I had to make him some soup, there's no way I could have let him do it." A rare smile graces his face, as it always does when he talks about his husband, before being replaced with his regular stern expression as he continues with the subject material. Before long, Dongyoung is struck with terror as he registers the unwanted sound of the person scooting their chair closer to him, but it gets worse. The stranger clears their throat, once, twice. Dongyoung is aware that they're trying to catch his attention, but he refuses to turn his head and make conversation, pretending to be completely attentive to what Professor Do is saying.

Unfortunately, the person will not give up, and resorts to a different method.

"Excuse me?"

Dongyoung can deduce that the voice is very male, and although he really doesn't want to make conversation, he also doesn't want to appear like a prick, so he turns to the owner of the voice, and is taken aback by what he sees.

This man looks like he stepped out of a manga, with flawless facial structure, wide brown eyes and eyebrows to die for. Dongyoung swears his heart flips over a few times before he reminds himself to calm the _fuck_ down, it's only his brain releasing stupid chemicals. Then he realises that the dude is speaking and he heard absolutely nothing of it.

"Sorry, pardon me, could you say that again?" he asks quietly.

"Would you mind telling me which class this is?" the stranger repeats, with a voice Dongyoung could listen to all day- except he couldn't, because his brain is being stupid and so what if the dude has a nice voice? His brain. _Certainly_ not his heart. But why is he asking which class they're in?

"This is Vocal Studies. Why?" Dongyoung inquires. Surely this dude couldn't have been stupid enough to walk into the wrong class... right?

It turns out that he's absolutely wrong, as the man opens his mouth to say, "So this isn't Dance and Health then... fuck." Dongyoung can do nothing but shake his head, feeling a little bit of pity for the guy (and quashing the reaction to how hot the curse word sounded coming out of his mouth- stupid brain, _stupid_ chemicals).

"Better get out of here quickly, before Professor Do spots you." The man tries to do so, but before he can stand up, the professor stops his lecture and gazes at the class, before addressing them.

"So, I want presentations on your chosen vocalist by Tuesday the 28th, with an analysis of their vocal techniques and how they apply them. Include something fun please." He seems to finish, but then continues, looking around the room. "Last term, I let you choose your own partners, which was, quite frankly, disastrous. So this time, you'll be working with whoever you're sat next to." As the class begin to pipe up in protest, he levels a cold stare at them, saying, "No buts. You'll do what I say and that is final."

Dongyoung feels his heart drop into his stomach as Professor Do's gaze sweeps over all of the students. He hurriedly turns to the man next to him, who looks just as panic-stricken as Dongyoung feels. "You need to go explain yourself before you're stuck working on a project with me, for a class you're not even taking!" he hisses, and the man starts to nod, a relieved expression crossing his face.

That is, until the professor checks his phone, and is evidently very concerned at what he sees. "Sorry for being so very unprofessional," he starts, "but Jongin's started to cough up blood and I think I might need to take him to the hospital. Class dismissed, everyone." This statement is followed by a cacophony of noise, students putting their things away, worried inquiries as to the man's health (which Professor Do ignores as he quickly packs away his equipment and sweeps out of the room), and miscellaneous chatter. Dongyoung can do nothing but look at his seat neighbour, who is staring back at him, gaze empty as he appears to have given up.

Dongyoung lets out a sigh, exasperated.  "Well, I'll explain to him myself then, and work alone." He drops his gaze to his desk, as looking at the man next to him was making him light-headed.

"I couldn't possibly leave you like this, could I?" Dongyoung dares to direct his eyes upwards for a second, and sees that an easy smile has settled itself on the man's face, making him curse his brain for the umpteenth time. "I'll work on it with you," he continues, "it might be fun." Which was the thing Dongyoung was dreading the most.

"I'd much rather work alone, if it's all the same to you." He drops his head down to the desk, putting his snappish attitude down to the sheer ridiculousness of this situation, so he can't really be blamed for it, right?

Luckily, if the other notices, he doesn't show it, which almost completely alleviates Dongyoung's guilt. _Almost_. "You heard the professor, we have to work with the person sitting next to us. I am sitting next to you. Therefore,” and with this the man puts his head on his own desk, mirroring Dongyoung's own, and his handsome face is in sight again, "we have to work together."

The fight leaves Dongyoung, and he says tiredly, "This isn't even your class..." letting the sentence trail off as he closes his eyes to get away from that face and the confusing things it does to him.

"Which makes it even more of a challenge. Besides-" He seems to stop himself, and Dongyoung opens his eyes to see a trace of- is that shyness?- on his face, "I'd like to get to know you better." They lock eyes, and an inexplicable feeling rises in Dongyoung's chest. His brain really does like to fuck with him, he muses as he blinks rapidly to clear the feeling.

Ignoring the fact that he's pretty sure the annoying (beautiful) man just tried to flirt with him, he sits up. "Fine," He acquiesces, "but I have some rules. Firstly, no slacking off. My grade thus far is pretty high, and a half-arsed presentation will bring it down no end. Secondly, don't let on to anyone that you're not supposed to be in this class. Professor Do will kick you out, and honestly, I could use the help. Thirdly-" he stops himself from saying, 'stop whatever you're doing that's making my brain mess with me.' "Nevermind. What do you have now?"

Dongyoung feels himself being fixed with a contemplative gaze for a few seconds, before the other man answers. "Nothing, Dance and Health was my only class for today."

He looks up, noticing how everyone but them has left the room already. "Well, we can get a head start now. My apartment isn't too far away." Without waiting for an answer, Dongyoung picks up his bag and stands, walking towards the door and listening for the sound of footsteps behind him. Sure enough, after a second or two, he hears it.

"Aren't you even going to ask my name before taking me home?" Dongyoung ignores him, and the sigh let out behind him is audible. "Well, I'm Lee Taeyong."

He'd be lying if he says he doesn't feel a little guilty, so as he opens the door, he replies with a short, "Kim Dongyoung. You can call me Doyoung if you like." holding the door open for the man to walk ahead of him, and he notices that he's almost a head shorter. Insignificant, totally insignificant, but his brain whispers, you could rest your chin on his head if you wanted to, which he ignores. Obviously.

Most of their journey is spent in silence, until approximately seven minutes later, when they reach Dongyoung's flat. The man- Taeyong- says, "This place looks pretty expensive."

"It is. I have quite a bit of money from my parents." Dongyoung says curtly.

"Oh, so you're a rich kid?" Taeyong quirks an eyebrow, and Dongyoung wishes that didn't look as hot as it does. "Of all the things I expected, that wasn't it." Dongyoung ignores him, the only sound being the bustle of traffic and the jingle of his keys as he lets them both into the apartment.

"Doyoungie, you're home!" Ten bounds into the hallway, closely followed by Yuta. "And who's this handsome specimen with you?"

At Taeyong's inquisitive look, he says, "Sorry, I forgot they were here. This is Chittaphon, otherwise known as Ten, and that's Yuta. They're my two best friends, and they're staying here because their apartment building burned down. Guys, this is Taeyong. Be nice."

Yuta and Ten introduce themselves, clarifying that the fire wasn't, in fact, their fault. Then Yuta turns to him, asking, "So, Doyoung, have you finally managed to find yourself a boyfriend?"

"What? No!" Dongyoung splutters, feeling his face heat up. "We're working on a project together. I barely know this dude!" He notices that Taeyong's eyes have widened, and that he is also denying that they know each other. Ten gives Dongyoung a knowing look, before checking his watch, shouting, "Fuck!" at the top of his lungs, and rushing out of the door. Dongyoung stares after him in shock, seeing Taeyong do the same, before Yuta explains, "He's got a lunch date with Jaehyun.", at which Dongyoung laughs. Although, knowing how whipped Jaehyun is for Ten, he wouldn't even care if the latter was a whole hour late.

"Sorry about all of this." Dongyoung turns to Taeyong, apologising. "Normally there's not that much going on here."

Taeyong, his eyes glimmering with mirth, replies, "I don't mind at all." The carefree expression on his face has Dongyoung's breath catching in his throat, before he shakes his head, chastising himself. Yuta glances between the two of them, the look unreadable, which confuses Dongyoung, before he says, "Well, I'll leave you two to get on with it. If you need me for my expertise on pretty much every subject ever, I'll be in Doyoungie's room eating crisps." Only then does Dongyoung notice the family size bag of Frazzles in his hand, and Yuta must see the expression on his face, because he hastily turns away and speed walks towards his room.

"I swear I'll throttle him with my bare hands, those were _my_ Frazzles." Dongyoung mutters under his breath, but not quietly enough, because Taeyong hears, and starts laughing, which of course, Dongyoung ignores. Definitely.

Some time later, they've finally started, and are sat around Dongyoung's kitchen table trying to decide which artist to focus their presentation on, Taeyong on the 5th page of the Google search "artists with best vocal techniques", and Dongyoung writing a shortlist of people they're considering. So far, the list contains 23 names, because Lee Taeyong cannot make a decision and Dongyoung is not a patient person.

"This is hopeless." Dongyoung complains. "We're never going to get anywhere with this."

"A little bit of positivity never goes amiss." Taeyong says. "We'll find someone- hold on a second." He beckons Dongyoung, who walks around the table to look at whatever's on the screen of Taeyong's laptop, grumbling all the while. "Is that who I think it is?"

Above the caption "D.O of disbanded SM boy group EXO" and a link, is a picture of Professor Do. 

"That is definitely who you think that is." Dongyoung says, in a state of shock. He reaches to click on the link, but Taeyong does the same thing, causing them to brush hands and Dongyoung to draw his back immediately. Taeyong glances up at him before quickly turning back to the laptop and clicking. A website loads with profiles of the boy group "EXO", and Dongyoung sees "D.O. (도경수)", along with another photo of his professor. Then he scrolls down and sees, "KAI (김종인)". "Kim Jongin... could it be?" He studies the photo, and yes, he does recognise the face from the times Professor Do has been lenient enough to show them the pictures on his phone (which are few and far between). "How on earth has he managed to keep this hidden from us?"

"I've no clue, seeing as he isn't my professor." Taeyong replies, prompting Dongyoung to shoot him a glare, before leaning back in his chair and cracking his knuckles loudly. "However, I do believe we've found the subject of our presentation."

Yuta walks into the kitchen then, with a now-empty bag of crisps (Dongyoung wonders how the hell he managed to eat all of those), and startles when he sees Dongyoung practically leaning over Taeyong's shoulder to look at the laptop. "Holy shit!" he exclaims, placing a hand on his chest in dramatic Yuta fashion. "You're still here?" Dongyoung checks his watch, and sees that it's been almost an hour since Yuta left them. All the bickering (mostly initiated by Dongyoung himself) must have lost them a lot of time after all. Taeyong also checks the time, saying, "I should probably go now, sorry we didn't get too much done." and of course Dongyoung can't resist a retort of "I wonder whose fault that is?"

Yuta rolls his eyes at the both of them, as Taeyong packs his bag and stands up. But when Dongyoung finally thinks he's in the clear, and doesn't have to worry about his stupid brain anymore, Taeyong turns around. He looks at Dongyoung for a few seconds, his fringe flopping ~~adorably~~ irritatingly over his eyes, before hesitantly picking up Dongyoung's pen and pad of post-it notes. He scribbles something on it, puts it down and smiles at Dongyoung briefly, then walks out the door which Yuta is helpfully holding open for him.

However, when the door closes, Yuta levels the look at Dongyoung, the look that screams "I want answers."

"So, Doyoung," he starts, "what's going on?" He walks over to sit at the table.

"Nothing!" Dongyoung exclaims. "The dude walked into the wrong class and now we're stuck doing a project together. I don't even like him." Yuta just looks at him.

"You're still trying to catch your breath after he _smiled_ at you, and you expect me to believe that nothing's going on?"   
Dongyoung shakes his head rapidly. "

"That's just my brain doing stupid stuff, not- not anything else." He gathers the strength to smile at Yuta. "Really, nothing." It's evident that his best friend doesn't believe him, as he says, "That 'stupid stuff', as you call it, is attraction. He affects you, doesn't he?" Dongyoung nods. "Then there you go."

"But, it's not even important. It's not real, it's all chemicals and stuff. You know what I think about-"

"It's not the dreaded L-word. You're attracted to him, which is understandable. He is pretty handsome after all. Yes, it is all chemicals in your brain, but so is everything. I forget how much of a cynic you are." Yuta stands up, pulling Dongyoung with him, and walks through to the living room, flopping onto the sofa as Dongyoung follows. “Now, let’s watch stupid soap operas and eat some ice cream. It’s extremely therapeutic.”

At some point, Ten walks in, and when he sees Yuta and Dongyoung on the sofa, immediately joins in, giving them a run down of his date with Jaehyun. As predicted, Jaehyun didn’t mind that he was late, and Dongyoung notices that Ten reeks of the other man’s cologne. As he finishes his account, Dongyoung and Yuta sigh in unison at the aura that always accompanies Chittaphon every time he talks about Jaehyun.

They spend close to four hours snuggled up in front of the telly together, until Yuta gets up to find his phone and order food (normally they’d cook but none of them really feel like it today). Then Dongyoung remembers whatever Taeyong has written on that post-it note, and stands up abruptly, ignoring Ten’s indignant cries of “come back and cuddle me”, and walking to the table. He picks up the pad, and sees a string of numbers, along with, ‘Just in case you need me’ and a smiley face, in impeccable handwriting. Dongyoung halts the smile that threatens to cross his face, reaching down to his bag and pulling out his phone, to input his number under the contact name, “Wrong Class.” He can delete the number as soon as their presentation is over with, of course. He can only pray that his grade doesn’t drop as a result of this stupid project. He’s not even sure why he agreed to work with Taeyong, really. The guy must be out of his mind to want to do a project for a class he doesn’t even take.

Dongyoung puts aside all thoughts of the man, and goes back to the sofa.


	2. Idiots Will Be Idiots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongyoung learns more about Taeyong than he planned 
> 
> (and Jaehyun breaks his nose).

Dongyoung would _like_ to convince himself that he forgets about Taeyong in the time that follows, but that isn't quite the case. As he lounges on the sofa with Yuta and Ten, the man's gaze burns into the back of his mind. As he digs into his greasy takeaway food, he remembers how Taeyong laughed when Dongyoung said something stupid. As he watches cheesy romance movies with a bucket of popcorn, a voice in his brain whispers _shouldn't you text him now?_

But of course, Dongyoung does what Dongyoung does best, and completely ignores this voice. Until much later, when Ten and Yuta decide to retire to their air bed in Dongyoung's room (his spare room is far too cluttered to be habitable). He tells them that he's going to stay up a bit later to see if he can get some more work done, and although they don't say anything, Dongyoung observes the look they share before bidding him goodnight. As soon as they leave, he fetches his secret stash of sweets from the cupboard and settles onto the sofa, phone in hand.

Three and a half packets of banana-flavoured Chewits later, Dongyoung realises that all he's been doing is staring blankly at Taeyong's contact whilst shoving sweets into his mouth on autopilot. Snapping himself out of it, he thinks, _well, for starters, "Wrong Class" is a shitty name,_ and he changes it to "Dumbarse". Then, feeling a little mean, changes it to "Annoyingly Hot and Stupid". It doesn't take him long for the stupidity of _that_ contact name to dawn upon him, and after a little more thought, he decides upon a simple "Lee Taeyong". He doesn't like how personal it feels, but soon shrugs it off.

Another packet of Chewits disappears before Dongyoung finally steels his resolve in order to type out a message.(and re-type it, and read it over what seems like a thousand times, and re-type it again).

  
hi, this is doyoung. i'd like to arrange a meeting in which we can work on the project further  
( _02:37_ )

He cringes as soon as he hits send, not only because he's only now aware of the lateness of the hour, but also because his copious proof-reading and editing of his text has made him sound like he is _very_ far up his own arse.

Taeyong replies relatively quickly, considering the time.

Hey, that sounds fine by me, give me a date and time and I'm wet  
( _02:39_ )

*set!  
( _02:39_ )

Evidently he did not worry so much about texting as Dongyoung had, and the latter can't help but giggle, the unfortunate typo and the relief that Taeyong did not call him out for texting late at night combining. However, he soon pulls himself together, because he is far too mature to be laughing at such things, of course. He types out a reply.

is wednesday okay for you?  
( _02:40_ )

I'm assuming you don't have a valentine, if you're free on Wednesday  
( _02:41_ )

oh crap, forgot about valentine’s day   
( _02:41_ )

Nah, it's fine, I don't have a date either :)  
( _02:42_ )

Slightly surprised you don't tho  
( _02:42_ )

Dongyoung is a bit taken aback by the emoticon and informal speech; perhaps Taeyong is becoming more comfortable around him? That, or he's too tired to stick to texting formally like they have been previously. Either way, Dongyoung's reading far too much into it, and he shakes his head at his own stupidity as his fingers tap at his phone screen.

dates are a waste of time lol  
( _02:43_ )

He grimaces; that was far too honest for his liking, and he really doesn't feel like explaining himself. _This is what happens when you don't think before you text_ , his rational side admonishes him. It also appears that formal speech has flown right out of the window, if his "lol" is anything to go by.

what do you mean?  
( _02:44_ )

nothing  
( _02:46_ )

Dongyoung sighs. Hopefully that one word will be enough to stop Taeyong from inquiring further. Which it does, as the other man politely avoids the subject, suggesting that they should meet at a nearby coffee shop, run by his best friend. Dongyoung agrees to this (only because Taeyong offers to pay for their coffee), and wonders briefly whether he'll gain an insight into Taeyong's life, before putting the thought out of his mind. He's trying to complete a project, not make a friend. Especially not a friend as dangerously attractive as Lee Taeyong so happens to be.

Half an hour later (oh how the time flies), Dongyoung bids goodnight to Taeyong, who replies with "sweet dreams :)". The text may or may not have made him smile for the entire time it takes him to put his depleted stash of sweets back into the cupboard, brush his teeth and head into his bedroom. The smile rapidly drops off his face, however, as he opens the door to a shadowy silhouette sitting on his bed.

The silhouette looks up, and Dongyoung sighs in relief as he recognises the face as Ten's, who points to Yuta, asleep on the air bed on the floor. Dongyoung whispers harshly, "Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, you scared the _hell_ out of me!"

"Sorry about that." Ten shrugs, the grin on his face expressing just how sorry he is. "But I couldn't sleep, and if you've ever been in close proximity to Yuta's feet you'd know how much they stink."  
Dongyoung beams back at him, glad to be once again immersed in normality, even if it is 3am in the morning. He sits down next to Ten, the bed complaining noisily at the added weight, at which they both halt all movement, wide-eyed and fearful that Yuta will wake up. Luckily for them, he doesn't, as the Japanese man gets very cranky when he wakes up, especially when he doesn't need to be awake.

After they're sure that the noise didn't disturb Yuta, Dongyoung looks up to a serious expression (which, on Ten's face, is rarer than saffron). "So, Yuta told me what's going on." Ten says in a hushed tone.

Dongyoung isn't sure why, but he feels the need to defend himself, so he does. "If you're talking about Taeyong, then yes, he is handsome, and maybe I spent the last half hour texting him, but nothing's going to come from it. I don't even know him, for starters, and love isn't real anyway." As the hurt crosses Ten's face, Dongyoung backtracks. "Not for me, at least."

With that cleared up, the short man quirks an eyebrow at him. "You spent the last half hour texting him?"

"About the project." Dongyoung hurries to clarify, which, to his confusion, makes Ten laugh a little, but he soon becomes serious again, which is quite frankly unnerving.

"All I'm saying..." he pauses, squeezes Dongyoung's shoulder. "If something happens, let it happen. Don't fight it, or it'll just end up making you downright miserable."

Dongyoung wants to protest, wants to tell Chittaphon that nothing will happen so it's not even worth worrying about; but seeing the gentle, yet firm gaze directed at him, he decides not to. "Thank you." He smiles, before adding, "Now get the fuck off my bed."

Ten laughs, a quieter cackle than Dongyoung ever thought possible, as he stands up and walks over to the air bed, once again resigning himself to the horror that is Yuta's feet.

 

  
The days pass, with nothing exciting happening- unless one counts an incident in which Jaehyun broke his nose and Dongyoung almost dropped a knife on his foot. Meanwhile, he receives no messages from Taeyong apart from the address of the coffee shop, which Dongyoung has high hopes for, as he loves a good cup of coffee.

When Wednesday/Valentine's Day/Taeyong???¿¿???¿? Day (as it is known in Dongyoung's mind; hence the confusion) arrives, Dongyoung is not at all prepared. In the morning, some sense of stability is brought when a masked Jaehyun knocks at the door, Yuta, of course, laughing his arse off at the stupid mask, and they all eat a hearty breakfast of croissants and hot chocolate. Yuta wastes half a croissant when he chucks it at the resident couple, complaining that "nobody with a _fucking_ ridiculous medical mask should be snogging their significant other and grossing the rest of us out." Dongyoung, one half of 'the rest of us', nods in agreement. Ten cries indignantly that couples should have free reign on Valentine's Day, but Jaehyun laughs, good-natured, and settles for wrapping an arm around Ten's waist, quieting the latter. Of course, Yuta grumbles a bit, but soon turns his discontent towards Dongyoung when the taller man says, "He's only jealous because he's single."

Sooner or later, however, Dongyoung realises that he has to leave, and he bids the group a hasty farewell before tugging his favourite scarf around his neck, grabbing the bag he packed the night before and rushing off. As he walks (the coffee shop isn't too far away), he checks his watch every minute or so, and even though he criticises himself for doing it- does he expect the time to magically leap forward?- he cannot stop himself.

When Dongyoung reaches the place that matches the address he'd been given, he immediately gives it his seal of approval. The whole place has an aura that just makes it seem homely, and, pushing open the door, Dongyoung notices that the warm lights and soft music contribute to this effect. He also notices, among the many customers, Taeyong seated in the far corner, smiling at him. Dongyoung takes a moment to retain his composure before smiling back and walking over. As he sits down, Taeyong says, "I didn't want to take the liberty of ordering for you without knowing what you would want, so I'll go do that now; what would you like?"

Dongyoung relays his coffee order, and Taeyong stands up, walking over to the counter where a very tall man stands. They converse for a while, but Dongyoung only hears snippets; they seem to be talking about someone called Taeil, and their body language shows that they are familiar with each other, although Taeyong looks slightly guarded for some reason. Instead of continuing to eavesdrop on their conversation, he busies himself with getting his laptop out of his bag, along with the notes he prepared a while beforehand.

He doesn't notice when Taeyong sits down in front of him, and is startled when the man says, "Johnny says that Taeil will bring the coffees over for us." Dongyoung assumes that the tall man is called Johnny, and he can't help but be curious about this Taeil. He imagines that he is the best friend Taeyong mentioned to him. Then again, it isn't really any of his business.

He shoves his notes across the table at Taeyong, who picks them up, face blank. "I guessed you might not know much about vocal technique so I made these for you, which means you're in charge of the presentation. Don't suppose you'd happen to know about anything more interesting than a PowerPoint?"

Taeyong smiles at him, again, and Dongyoung is caught off guard, again. "Really, thank you for this. You're right, I don't know much at all- well, I rap in my spare time but they're entirely different things." There's a little tidbit of information which Dongyoung could store in his brain... if he wanted to, which he absolutely doesn't. Of course.

As they work on their presentation, they engage in small talk, because Dongyoung believes it's the polite thing to do, and it's _definitely_ not that he wants to learn more about the other man. In spite of this, he does learn that Taeyong is a year older than him, that he likes to dance and is "alright" at it- although Dongyoung suspects that's modesty, and that he sometimes writes songs.

"So, let me get this straight. You thought your best mate's boyfriend was an intruder, yelled at him whilst brandishing a knife, and only recognised who it was when he tripped over and fell flat on his face?" Taeyong asks, through his laughter, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes. Dongyoung is in a similar state himself, although it hadn't been funny to him when it happened. "In my defence," he starts, "Ten never told me that he lent his key to Jaehyun."

"Of course, it could happen to anyone." Taeyong teases, still laughing, although the laughter stops when a man approaches their table with two cups, replaced by an expression that Dongyoung can't quite place. "Hey Taeil-hyung." He says, his voice softer than Dongyoung's ever heard it.

Oh. So _this_ is the Taeil. Dongyoung takes a good look at him. He's beautiful, with soft features and a warm smile. When he speaks, greets Taeyong, his voice is even more beautiful than his face, and Dongyoung feels a liking towards him already.

"Is this your date?" Taeil asks, and Taeyong shakes his head immediately, saying, "We're working together on a project." Dongyoung can do nothing but sit in silence until the short man turns to him. "Hi, I'm Moon Taeil, Taeyong's best friend, and the owner of this place."

"I'm Kim Dongyoung, it's lovely to meet you." Dongyoung replies, and he really does mean it, though that's all he has time to say before Taeyong speaks again, drawing the older's attention back to him. "Have you and Youngho done anything for Valentine's Day yet?"

Taeil smiles wider at the mention of this Youngho. "Not yet, but he's taking me out for dinner later." Dongyoung notices that his cheeks go slightly red. Looking back at Taeyong, he doesn't see the look of happiness for his best friend that one would expect, although it's close. The youngest sees the look for what it is, a flimsy mask to hide the true melancholy, and he suddenly realises what's going on.

Then another man walks up to them, and Dongyoung recognises the man Taeyong referred to as Johnny. "Why are you taking so long, babe?" He asks Taeil, backhugging him, and Dongyoung is confused because isn't Taeil dating someone called Youngho? Taeyong must sense this, because he taps Dongyoung's hand, once (the latter was definitely not startled by this), and when the couple are immersed in each other he mouths "Johnny is Youngho". Dongyoung nods in understanding, seeing the same expression on Taeyong's face that was there when he was talking to Johnny earlier.

Moments later, the owner and his boyfriend leave, Johnny wiggling his eyebrows at Taeyong, who scowls. When Dongyoung reckons they're out of earshot, he turns to the older, raising an eyebrow. "So, you're in love with your best friend, huh?"

Taeyong almost chokes on the gulp of coffee he's just taken, and Dongyoung chastises himself for bad timing. "What do you mean, I'm not... I don't..." Under Dongyoung's gaze, he deflates, gives in. "Pretty fuckin observant of you." He mutters. "So what if I am? It's not as if he ever needs to know."

Dongyoung looks at him for a while, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how. With anyone else, he would offer a hug, because he loves skinship, but this is Lee Taeyong and even the thought of hugging him has his mind going haywire, because it likes to mess with him. So instead, he taps Taeyong's hand, once, like the other had done for him, and Taeyong looks up. Quickly finding something to change the subject, he says, "You mentioned that you write songs, right?" Taeyong nods, shy at the mention of it. "Well," Dongyoung continues, "would you let me listen some time?" Then he blushes, because that sounds a little more intimate than he meant it to be, but Taeyong doesn't notice, and if he does, he doesn't show it.

"I'd like that." he says, smiling again. "I'm actually looking for someone to sing in my latest song, normally I'd ask Taeil-hyung, but..." He trails off, and his face gains that sad look that Dongyoung's starting to hate seeing on him. His mind scrabbles for anything to say that will change the older man's facial expression, and latches onto the first idea. "Well, I, uh, I sing at a few restaurants every week, so if you're hard pressed for a singer, I could maybe-" Then he stops himself. "That's a _stupid_ idea, I'm sorry for suggesting-"

Taeyong cuts him off by placing his hand on Dongyoung's own. "If you're willing, that would be wonderful." He says, positively beaming at him, and as always, Dongyoung is dumbstruck. After a few seconds of silence in which he realises how dangerous this is, he coughs awkwardly, moving his hand and flashing a brief smile at the man sat across from him. "We should probably get on with this now." He says, and Taeyong agrees quietly, although when Dongyoung sneaks peeks over his laptop screen, he sees that the older is still smiling.

 

When Dongyoung gets home later that day, he’s greeted by Yuta, “Thank god you’re home, I’ve been alone for most of the day and the temptation to steal your junk food is too great.” This prompts Dongyoung to shoot him a glare, before Yuta continues chattering away, “Although when I went to the off-licence to buy my own junk food, I saw the cutest man I think I’ve _ever_ seen in my life, and-” He pauses for dramatic effect, “I got his number.”

Dongyoung shakes his head, partly relieved that Yuta bought food instead of stealing his, and partly exasperated. Only Nakamoto Yuta could flirt with someone and get their number in an _off-licence_ , of all places.

“Anyway,” the older man begins, “how was your date?” He smirks, as Dongyoung can feel his face flame, vehemently denying that it was a date.

“We got a lot of work done.” He says. He fails to mention how he learnt more about Taeyong than he ever thought he would, how he’s going to be singing on one of the man’s songs, how he might have accidentally made a (ridiculously hot) friend. The look Yuta gives him tells him that his facial expression gave away more than he had wanted, but his friend doesn’t question it, instead asking whether it’s too early to text “Sicheng”, the cute Chinese man he’d seen at the shop.

Dongyoung rolls his eyes. “Text him whenever you want. If he liked you enough to give you his number in broad daylight without a drop of alcohol, he won’t care.” Fortunately, Yuta agrees with him, and pulls his phone out straightaway. “Ten’s staying at Yoonoh’s tonight.” He says, pretending to gag at the thought. “His poor, poor roommate.”

Dongyoung thinks of what said unnamed roommate will have to go through, and shudders. Not wanting _that_ thought in his head anymore, he changes the subject. “I’m thinking something very unhealthy tonight. Burgers with processed cheese sound good to you?” He asks. Yuta hums, already too engrossed in his conversation with the new romantic interest to reply properly. Even though he hadn’t expected anything more, Dongyoung rolls his eyes again, heading into the kitchen to cook. It seems like everyone’s having luck with love on Valentine’s Day. Apart from him of course.

 _Although_ , that annoying voice that Dongyoung can’t get rid of whispers, _if you ever_ did _go on a date, you’d want it to be like today, wouldn’t you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’re all idiots. That’s all I have to say. 
> 
> (hey maybe leave a comment because they make my day and I love responding to them :) )


	3. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongyoung doesn’t figure things out in time.

It so happens that Dongyoung has no time to think about Taeyong for a while; Ten takes him shopping, and while he normally hates shopping, he needs anything to take his mind off the one thing he won't let himself think about.

"Full offence, Doyoungie, but your wardrobe is shit." He starts in the morning, when Dongyoung, fresh from his morning class, is half asleep on the sofa in his jogging bottoms and an oversized, somewhat stained t-shirt. "We're going shopping today, okay?" And Dongyoung can do nothing but agree. Yuta, who is flying around the house and preparing for his date with the man he met in the corner shop, peeks his head out of his bedroom, then walks over. Both Dongyoung and Ten cry in outrage when they see that Yuta's outfit consists of clothing taken from both of their wardrobes as well as his own, although they have to admit that it looks good.

"In his defence," Yuta says, hands on hips, "our bunny does have _some_ good items of clothing." He looks down at his own getup to demonstrate. "Not many though." He adds cheekily. Then he blows a kiss at the both of them and heads out of the door. Dongyoung has no idea whether he should feel pleased that Yuta did defend him somewhat, or downright affronted because both of his best mates insulted his wardrobe.

That is how he gets roped into going around all the big clothing stores within a ten mile radius, on Ten's motorbike no less. "You couldn't have just let me drive my car, no, instead we have to go on this contraption of death!" Dongyoung complains (he, like his friends, has a flair for the dramatic). Ten tells him very briefly to shut up, and then they step off the motorbike in the car park of the first shop Chittaphon wants to drag him around.

"Where's Yoonoh, anyway?" Dongyoung asks as he disinterestedly looks at articles of clothing.

"He's at his apartment." Ten answers, holding a leather jacket up to Dongyoung's wide shoulders and nodding in approval. "His roommate has a date or something, so he wants to take advantage of all the food in his flat while he's gone. He did invite me over to take advantage in _other_ ways-" Dongyoung scrunches up his face in disgust, "but I decided that your fashion crisis is more important." At this, Dongyoung whacks the other man's arm with a coat hanger, and they both laugh.

A few minutes later, Ten shoves him into a fitting room, saying, "Get your arse into this outfit." Dongyoung grumbles, of course, but puts the clothing on, and when he steps out, Ten wolf whistles.

"Look at you! Damn, those jeans really show off your legs. And your shoulders, oh my word. This is an outfit you should consider investing in." Dongyoung rolls his eyes, but all the same walks toward the mirror, and he can see what Ten's talking about, as the other man blabbers on. "It's casual and subtly sexy. I wish I had legs like yours." This prompts Dongyoung to quip about how Ten's too short to have legs like his, at which Ten lets out an indignant cry. Then he's shoved back into the dressing room and the outfit is placed over Ten's arm because "I don't trust you not to put them back on the rack when I'm not looking." The shorter man is mumbling about something, and soon vocalises his thoughts loud enough that Dongyoung can hear them. "Your legs are your biggest asset." Dongyoung grumbles, "I thought my shoulders were my biggest asset." but Ten continues. "To show them off, you need... booty shorts!"

Dongyoung splutters. "What- that's a _horrible_ idea!"

"Nonsense!" The other replies, leading them to a rack of shorts. "And you actually have an arse to go with those long legs - well it's not as good as mine but it exists." Dongyoung sticks his tongue out at him.

This continues for hours and hours, until Ten is satisfied with the purchases  that he has told Dongyoung to make, and they finally head home, to the taller man's relief. When he finally steps off the motorbike - horrendous machine - Ten comments, looking at all the bags, "I wish I had the money to buy all the shit that you do, Doyoung-ah."

Dongyoung shrugs, uncomfortable. "My parents do well with their business. And with my brother being an actor, they don't have to provide for him. I've also got my job, so..." Ten seems to notice that Dongyoung's embarrassed about his money, and drops the subject as they walk inside.

The first thing Dongyoung does, predictably, is flop back onto the sofa, plucking his phone from his pocket and noticing that he'd received some texts whilst being dragged around clothing shops. The first bunch is from Yuta- which is surprising that he'd use his phone on a date - and they read:

sicheng is jhyuns roommate holy mother of pineapple  
( _11:14_ )

i bet the fucker's gonna tell him embarrassing stuff about me  
( _11:14_ )

crAp he already has abort mission  
( _11:16_ )

nvm  
( _11:18_ )

Dongyoung cannot help but laugh out loud, wordlessly showing his phone to Ten when the latter asks what's going on. "Did you know about this?" He asks when he regains the ability of speech.

Chittaphon merely shrugs, an evil glint in his eye. "Maybe I might've started a conversation with Yoonoh about you guys when his roommate was around. He's a nice guy, though. I only formally met him last night after Yuta texted me about the "hot dude Sicheng". He'll thank me for it once he realises that Sicheng's nice enough to not hold it against him."

"I think you overestimate Yuta." Dongyoung replies, still giggling. "He'll forgive you, sure... but you'll be six feet under by then!" He bursts into laughter, sending "lmfao" to Yuta before checking his phone again.

The laughter dies in his throat when he sees that the other unread texts are from Lee Taeyong himself.  Ten, the nosey git, peeks over his shoulder after noticing the look of dread on his face. "Oh it's the dude who you won't admit your feelings for." he muses, quieting immediately when Dongyoung shoots him a glare. "What feelings? I barely know him!" He fires back, taking advantage of his indignation and opening the messages.

(attached audio file)  
( _12:03_ )

(attached pdf file)  
( _12:04_ )

Let me know when you want to work on this and I'll send you the address to the studio my friend lets me work in :)  
( _12:06_ )

He knows he should be focusing on the other messages, but that voice in his mind is chanting _he sent a smiley face he sent a smiley face_ over and over again, and the thought makes him smile. Then he comes to his senses, Ten having long since lost interest and wandered off, and opens the audio file.

A piano track with a strong drum beat starts playing through his phone's tinny speaker, and immediately Dongyoung is taken aback by Taeyong's rapping. His voice is low, harsh in some places and soft in others, and his lyrics make Dongyoung's heart ache. There is an additional piano melody where he assumes he is to sing, and he hums along to it when he gets the hang of it. After a few listens he decides he can't listen anymore or he'll cry, and he opens the pdf file, which turns out to be a transcript of the lyrics.

He looks at the lines he has to sing (helpfully highlighted) and thinks that it would be an honour to sing in this song. He texts Taeyong back and tells him this much, to which the older replies with more smiley faces. They arrange a date - _don't call it that, it feels weird_ \- to work in the studio, and Dongyoung proposes to drop off more content for their project, to which Taeyong agrees. Then Taeyong leaves with a "gtg cya" , and Dongyoung definitely doesn't miss the conversation when he goes, that would be absurd.

He walks over to his room, but can hear that Ten is FaceTiming Jaehyun and doesn't want to disturb them, so decides to take a nap on the sofa.

Hours later, he's shaken awake to see a grinning Yuta inches away from his face. "Hey, how was your date?" he asks, and Yuta smiles even wider, which he wasn't sure was possible. "He's everything my ex wasn't!" He says excitedly, and that's all Dongyoung needs to approve of him. God, Yuta's ex-girlfriend was a nasty piece of work. "Sit up." The older man nudges him over to sit on the sofa as well, and then Ten walks in from the kitchen, so they both have to make room for him.

Yuta recounts his date to them, threatening Ten with murder many times and concluding his account with, "If he asked me to marry him tomorrow, I would say yes." Ten squeals a little, but Dongyoung yawns. "Love at first sight and all that shit, right?" He chuckles a little, but then stops once he notices the glares directed at him. However, it's too little too late, as he's subjected to an impromptu tickling fit from the both of them, and afterwards his face and stomach both hurt from laughter.

"Just because you won't admit that you fancy the hot guy you met in a twist of fate - cringy TV trope alert!" Yuta accuses while laughing, Dongyoung swatting him and telling him to shut up. He doesn't "fancy" anyone, the whole concept is purely scientific need to find a mate which has no place in Dongyoung's life. He tells them as much, and he sees their pitying glances but he doesn't care. He _doesn't_.

 

 

Later that night, he gets a call which wakes him from his deep slumber, and checks the time on his alarm clock. "It's 4am, who the hell wants to call me now?" He grumbles quietly, being mindful not to wake the pair in the air bed. When he picks up the phone, he makes sure to put all of his displeasure into his "Hello?"

He is most certainly _not_ expecting a very evidently drunk Taeyong, voice at an even lower pitch, to slur into the phone, "Illie-hyung, I'm in the pub and Wendy and Seulgi left."

"I'm sorry, this is Doyoung." Dongyoung says, flabbergasted and completely forgetting to be aggressive. He's never had drunk people call his phone at ungodly hours, thinking he was someone else.

"Oh, Doyoungie!" Taeyong sounds excited, and Dongyoung tries very hard not to let it affect him (he fails). "You're so nice, Doyoung-ah..."

"What do you mean?" Dongyoung asks, genuinely confused. He hasn't gone out of his way to be nice to the older man at all.

"You offered to sing my song when I couldn't find anyone else, you laugh at my jokes, and you haven't hung up on me yet." Taeyong laughs. "You're almost as nice as my Illie-hyung."

He continues along this vein until Dongyoung decides that he's had enough of listening to the man's drunken ramblings about Taeil (he's not _jealous_ , of course), and asks, "Where are you? I'll come and get you." Taeyong rattles off the address of the pub, and soon Dongyoung is grabbing his keys and heading for his car.

When he gets to the place Taeyong has described, he immediately sees him at the bar, nursing a glass of whiskey. Walking up to him, he puts a hand on his shoulder and laughs a little when the shorter man jumps. "Doyoungie~" he says as he turns around. "You came to get me."

"I couldn't leave you to make your own way home, could I?" Dongyoung rolls his eyes, trying his very best to ignore the fact that _Lee Taeyong just grabbed his hand and is now fiddling with it._

Taeyong hums, letting Dongyoung tug him out of the pub and into his car with a warning, "If you throw up in here I will tear you limb from limb." He watches Taeyong struggle with his seatbelt for the first, second time, then he leans over to do it for him, and he hates the fact that he's close enough to smell a pleasant cologne under the potent stench of alcohol. As he stands up, Taeyong visibly gives him a once over, saying, "You look good..." under his breath, and his hooded eyes do not make _something_ settle in the pit of Dongyoung's stomach. Definitely not. Dongyoung glances down at himself and sees that in his haste, he's put a coat and boots on over his pyjama shorts, and his legs are almost fully exposed. He scoffs, it's hardly an outfit that looks good on anyone, Taeyong's just drunk. Although, when he looks up, the older man's gaze is still trained on his legs, and this makes Dongyoung move a lot faster to shut the door and walk around to the driver's seat. When he's in, he reminds Taeyong once again to avoid throwing up in his car at all costs, then asks for directions to the older man's flat.

Unfortunately, Taeyong refuses to give the address or even any sort of direction in favour of rambling about how nice Dongyoung's legs are, and the younger man almost sinks into the driver's seat upon hearing the praise, embarrassed. "You'll find anything to talk about when you're drunk, won't you?" He mutters, taking a turn which leads to his apartment since clearly Taeyong doesn't want to cooperate. Hopefully Ten and Yuta won't tease him too much.

The rest of the car ride is spent in silence, as Taeyong is fiddling with the seat controls, raising and lowering himself and reclining the seat. Dongyoung refuses to look at him directly, because he must not let the shorter man, not even drunk, see the smile on his face at his antics. It doesn't take long before they get to Dongyoung's building, and he has to help Taeyong up the stairs (the other tries to reach into his jacket pocket _for_ him to get his keys and that's where he draws the line). When they get into the flat, Dongyoung shoves some of Yuta's pyjamas - "these should fit you, you're about the same size" - and a glass of water at Taeyong, and dumps him on his own bed, preparing himself for a night on the sofa. However, before he can leave, Taeyong grabs his hand with strength unexpected of someone so intoxicated and pulls him down until he's about to fall onto the bed, where he holds him.

"You know, Doyoung-ah," he whispers, "one day, I might like you even more than I like Illie-hyung." Dongyoung doesn't know why the warm grip of his hand and that sentence bring about a warm feeling in his chest, and he definitely doesn't know how to reply, so he just extracts his hand from the shorter's grip, smiles at him and walks out of the room. "Go to sleep."

He forgot to account for one thing, though.

 

  
Dongyoung is notified that Yuta has woken up when a yell reverberates through the flat the next morning.

"What in the everliving _fuck_ is going on here?!"

Dongyoung winces, from both the knowledge that Taeyong has been woken up and the pain in his neck and back. Clambering off the sofa with difficulty, he walks into his bedroom, wincing at every step.

Sure enough, he finds Taeyong curled up in the bed nursing his undoubtedly blinding headache, and Yuta pacing the room, muttering, "Doyoung transformed into his not-love interest what sort of bloody parallel universe...". Meanwhile, Ten is sitting on the air bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling and Dongyoung can tell that he is wishing for all the ruckus to stop. He clears his throat.

Yuta's head whips around. "Doyoungie! I thought you'd-" His relieved expression suddenly turns to one of suspicion. "Why is the man you claim not to have feelings for in your bed?"

Dongyoung has to refrain from leaping across the room to clap a hand over Yuta's mouth, instead shushing him hurriedly and explaining the situation. Ten finally moves, turning to look at Dongyoung. After processing everything in his head, he stands up, slowly. "I think I'm going to make us all a cup of tea." he says. "God knows we need it." The Japanese man hastily follows him out of the room, which leaves Dongyoung to deal with a hungover Lee Taeyong.

Great.

Gingerly, he walks over to the bed and sits down. Taeyong must feel the weight on the bed, because he sits up, grimacing at the pain in his head. He notices the half full glass of water on the bedside table, and downs it. "Thank you for picking me up and bringing me here." He says, voice gravelly from having just been woken up.

"Wouldn't have done it had you not called me at 4am in the morning." Dongyoung retorts, but there's no venom in it, and he gives up on trying to be mean. "I didn't want you to be alone while you were drunk. Anyone else would do the same."

Taeyong takes his hand from where it had been resting on the duvet, grasping it firmly, and for the umpteenth time Dongyoung wishes he wouldn't do that. "Seriously, thank you. I really appreciate it."  His eyes lock onto Dongyoung's own, and as the latter looks into his warm brown eyes and registers the brush of a thumb over his knuckles, he realises that this is _dangerous_. He removes his hand quickly and looks away, shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts and the feelings that shouldn't be there.

When he finally musters the courage to look back at Taeyong, the older man is still looking at him, a soft smile on his face. Dongyoung has no idea what to do with everything including his own brain confusing him like this, so he just changes the subject. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"That would be brilliant, thanks." Taeyong's smile gets even wider, and the thought crosses Dongyoung's mind that he likes it when Taeyong smiles at him, but he dismisses it. Mostly.

He takes a mental note of how strong the shorter man likes his tea, and how much sugar, before leaving, saying, "I'll bring it in when it's done, unless you feel up to sitting in the kitchen with the rest of us."

Of course, when he goes out into the kitchen, Ten's already got four cups of tea lined up, and is pouring water into them. Dongyoung tells him how Taeyong likes his tea, not worrying about his own preference because Ten knows it off by heart, and Ten nods, before asking calmly, "So what was all that about?"

On the contrary, Yuta is not so calm. "Why is he in your bed, Doyoung?" He hisses. "Almost gave me a heart attack."

"He called me at 4am thinking I was someone else and saying he was alone at a pub. I felt bad for him, so I slept on the sofa."

"Aw, so you actually do have a heart, after all." Ten teases.

"Especially when it comes to Lee Taeyong." Yuta adds, and they both lean up against the kitchen counter with identical expressions. Sometimes their synchronisation in everyday actions scares Dongyoung.

It's at that moment when Taeyong walks into the room, and Dongyoung almost has a coughing fit ( _weak_ ) because Yuta's old ratty pyjamas should not look good on anyone, but somehow, Lee Taeyong manages to make them look like a designer brand.

Yuta notices the way he looks, thankfully, and pinches him, hard. "You gave him my clothes?!" He whispers harshly, and maybe he didn't notice and he's just mad.

"Good morning, Ten-ssi, Yuta-ssi, Doyoung-ah." Taeyong says, sinking into a chair at the table. "I used the spare toothbrush, I hope you don't mind?" He directs this last unsure statement at Dongyoung, and his gaze means that Dongyoung can only smile and say he doesn't mind, sitting in the chair next to him. Yuta and Ten look at him, their expressions part surprise that Taeyong remembered their names and part suspicion that he called Dongyoung "Doyoung-ah". Ten serves the tea, and they all sit around the table.

It's awkward at first, because neither Ten nor Yuta have had a proper conversation with Taeyong before, but they soon warm up to him, and pleasant conversation ensues. Dongyoung likes this, likes the fact that Taeyong gets on well with his best friends, but he's not sure why.

By the time they've all finished their tea, Ten likes him enough to cook breakfast, and Yuta likes him enough to  voluntarily lend him some clothes that aren't pyjamas. Dongyoung would be completely happy with how things are going, but Taeyong keeps looking at him. Short glances over to the side where he is, thinking that Dongyoung doesn't notice. Dongyoung does, in fact, notice, but the knowledge that Taeyong is looking at him makes something bubble up in his chest, and he doesn't want to acknowledge it.

After a while, Taeyong leaves, saying he has an afternoon class to prepare for, and Dongyoung thinks _what the hell was he doing getting drunk the night before a class?_ but he doesn't say it. Ten and Yuta are engaged in a heated debate as to whether the English word "scone" is pronounced "s-cone" or "s-con", so it falls to Dongyoung to walk Taeyong to the door. Taeyong takes his hand, again, before he leaves, and Dongyoung lets himself surrender to the warm feeling it brings him. The reward he gets in the form of a grin is worth his internal debate. _This is friendship... right?_

 

  
Some interesting things happen in the next few days. Dongyoung meets Sicheng, for one, whom is only slightly shorter than him, very polite and very... _cute_. Dongyoung has an immediate urge to take care of him, and when he tells Yuta this after Sicheng has left, he replies, "That's because you're the mum friend, Doyoungie."

"In all seriousness," Dongyoung says, "he's good for you. I can tell. He makes you happy, doesn't he?" Eyes and cheeks bright, Yuta nods. Dongyoung hugs him, because he's so glad that he's finally happy after a string of toxic boyfriends and girlfriends. Ten leaps out of nowhere and joins in the hug, so they're all giggling. "I'm still prepared to beat his arse if he hurts you." Ten says, and Dongyoung says "Me too." Yuta says, "Me three!" which has them all laughing again.

  
Another thing that happens is Taeyong starts to text and call Dongyoung more. They work on their vocal project together over the phone, laughing as they wonder how Professor Do will react to their presentation. When Dongyoung asks Taeyong whether he should just do the presentation alone so Taeyong doesn't have to skip another class, the older man says, "Are you kidding? I have to be there!" and that's the end of that.

Soon, Doyoung is looking forward to when his phone buzzes, which is okay, he reasons with himself, because Taeyong's his _friend_ , and all these feelings which he doesn't feel around Ten and Yuta can be ignored. After all, it's just his brain being stupid.

He discovers it might be harder to ignore them when the day comes for him to record the vocals for Taeyong's song.

In the morning, he throws on the black-skinny-jeans-with-white-shirt-and-leather-jacket outfit that Ten had told him to buy, because they were the first things he found in his wardrobe (not because Ten had said they emphasised his legs and he still remembers what Taeyong had said when he was drunk). It's entirely possible that Ten sees right through him, if the glance he gets as he walks out of the door with a hurried "Goodbye!" is anything to go by.

When he pulls up outside the studio, he's impressed by the sleek design of the building. But he has no time for that because he overslept, so he rushes into the building, and directs himself to the room where Taeyong said he'd be waiting. Sure enough, Taeyong is there, in tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie, with hair that’s recently been dyed red. Dongyoung suddenly feels embarrassed, because he'd dressed up and Taeyong obviously hadn't- but even with his minimal effort, he looks good, especially with the bold colour of his hair.

Taeyong does a double take when he sees Dongyoung, and his eyes widen. "You look... really nice." He breathes, looking the taller man up and down. Dongyoung notices that his gaze lingers on his legs, and looks down so that Taeyong doesn't see his shy smile. "So do you." He replies quietly, taking a seat. "I'm really looking forward to singing this song. It's beautiful."

Now it's Taeyong's turn to smile, as he thanks Dongyoung and says, "It's a really personal song, but I think you'll be amazing."

Dongyoung's not sure why they're both complimenting each other so much, but he can feel his cheeks getting warm, so he asks if they can start. Taeyong has already pre-recorded his rap part, so he's going to be watching Dongyoung sing over the track. However, he can't get nervous, has too much experience to be nervous, so he doesn't look at the older man as he takes his place in front of the microphone. The song starts to play, with the drums and piano tune that he is now so familiar with, and when he hears the ascending chord progression behind Taeyong's rap, he closes his eyes and starts to sing:

_"The moonlight behind the clouds whispers to me_  
_The hushed calm tells me it's alright  
Small whispers that flutter across my heart.”_

He continues, singing above the rap parts, and he relishes in the fact that his voice is particularly clear. When the song ends, he feels bereft for a second, before he realises where he is, and looks over to see Taeyong staring at him in awe.

"Doyoung-ah, your voice is beautiful." He says, hushed. Dongyoung smiles at the compliment, ducking his head. "Was it alright? Do I need to record it again?" He asks, although (not to blow his own trumpet) he thinks he already knows the answer.

"Absolutely not." the red-haired man affirms, then goes on to murmur, “I couldn’t have picked anyone better to sing it.” as he turns to his laptop, more to himself than to Dongyoung. The latter pretends he hadn’t heard it.

“I’m sorry you didn’t feel you could ask your Taeil-hyung.” Dongyoung says, emphasising the your for his own benefit, really, to remind himself of the current situation.

“Hm?” Taeyong turns back around to look at Dongyoung with a confused expression, before he breaks into a smile. “I’m glad I didn’t now.” He admits, and Dongyoung hasn’t the faintest idea what to do with that information. For lack of anything else to do, he smiles back, and makes eye contact with the older man (he hasn’t learnt his lesson yet, because it affects him just as much as it always has done). He then checks his watch, and sees that he’s due to leave for a group lunch with Ten, Yuta, Jaehyun and Sicheng - where he will be the fifth wheel. He considers inviting Taeyong to lessen the burden, but rethinks it when he considers how much Yuta and Ten (and Jaehyun to a lesser extent) will tease him. “I should be going now.” He says, with finality. “Thank you for letting me work on such an amazing song with you.”

Taeyong grins at him. “Thank you for offering to work with me.” He returns. “I couldn’t think of anyone whose voice is better for this song.”

Dongyoung would mention Taeil, but he doesn’t want to see that look of melancholy on Taeyong’s face that he’s really grown to dislike. Instead, he thanks the older and turns to open the door. Something inspires him to say, “See you later, hyung!” over his shoulder.

Maybe that’s what does it, because before he can leave, he hears one, two steps behind him. Suddenly his wrist is grasped, and he’s being turned round and pushed against the door, which shuts loudly, and then Taeyong is cradling his face and craning his neck upwards a little and there are lips on his own.

Dongyoung is so surprised that he just goes with it, lets himself succumb to the warmth sweeping over his whole body, closes his eyes and kisses back, threading his fingers through the hair at the back of Taeyong’s head. The shorter man’s hands move from his face to his shoulders, and then move again, all the way down his sides until he has a gentle hold on Dongyoung’s hips, and the latter winds his arms around Taeyong’s neck.

When he finally breaks away for breath, Taeyong pulls Dongyoung down a bit to rest his forehead against Dongyoung’s own, and he opens his eyes. Dongyoung searches his face, seeing up close how beautiful it is and how it radiates contentment, before the older man speaks. “Would you let me take you out to dinner sometime?” He asks, hushed, smiling wider than Dongyoung has ever seen him, and in that moment, he is ethereal.

Then it sinks in, that Taeyong is asking him on a _date_ , that they were just _kissing_ , and Dongyoung starts to panic because this goes against everything he has believed in for so long, and _Taeyong loves his best friend_ and Dongyoung vowed never to feel anything romantic for anyone because _it never lasts anyway_ and-

He has to get out.

He quickly takes his arms from around the red-haired man’s neck and chokes out, “I’m sorry”, before he turns and runs, out of the door, out of the building, into his car, where he buries his head in his hands and wonders what kind of mess he’s got himself into this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here ya go. A long chapter with a good ol’ dose of angst. Why, Doyoung, why, it was going so well!!!! 
> 
> (also Taeyong has a thing for doyoung’s legs ooooops) 
> 
> The song Taeyong and Doyoung were working on was piece of mind! Check it out if you haven’t already! 
> 
> If you enjoy the story so far, please leave a comment! They make my day and I love replying to them! :)))


	4. Thinking Might Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dongyoung finally knows what he has to do (of course, he doesn't work it out on his own).

When Dongyoung gets into the café half an hour late, his bloodshot eyes and tearstained face are not mentioned, and he is thankful for this. However, they do not go unnoticed, as Yuta and Ten spend extra time hugging him, Jaehyun pats him on the back a few times as he sits down, and Sicheng keeps casting concerned glances at him.

That aside, the lunch goes very well, as they all get along. Dongyoung tries to socialise to the best of his ability, but the look of utter confusion on Taeyong's face when he left has fired itself onto the backs of his eyelids, and doesn't seem like it will leave any time soon. He keeps playing it over in his head, the total bliss that encompassed him when he was kissing the shorter man, the confusion that followed, the inexplicable heartbreak that came from nowhere when he was sat in his car. 

Although, when Sicheng and Jaehyun leave for their own flat hours later, Dongyoung is met with two identical stern gazes, and under their weight he tells both Yuta and Chittaphon everything. 

By the end of it, Yuta is sinking into the sofa with his head in his hands in exasperation, and Ten is sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of Dongyoung, looking intently at his face as though it holds the clue as to how the tall man can be so stupid. Dongyoung himself doesn't know the answer, bowing his head so low his chin almost touches his neck, knees drawn up to his chest.

"Well," Yuta starts once he composes himself, "that was a shitty thing to do. Couldn't you have had this realisation before he started thinking you wanted something with him? Because now you've gone and hurt the dude's feelings." He shakes his head. 

"I know." Dongyoung replies quietly, knowing there's no point trying to defend himself. 

"But if there's one thing that has come out of all this, isn't it that you've realised that you  _do_  want something with him?" Ten asks, contemplative, still looking directly at Dongyoung. 

The latter can't,  _won't_  let himself entertain the idea of having something with Taeyong, and he says, "It's just not possible. You know how I feel about- It never lasts. I don't want to be the one who gets his heart broken in the end because he couldn't control the  _stupid_  chemicals in his brain." 

In his peripheral vision, Yuta stands up, and it's clear he's had enough. "You've been saying this for years! So what if your parents aren't in love anymore? So what if they're only still together for the business? That's not how _every relationship in the world_  ends up! Let yourself fall in love a thousand times, let yourself get your heart broken! It's not the end of the world!" He's almost shouting, and Dongyoung can tell that he's desperate to get his point across. Then his voice softens, and he looks Dongyoung directly in the eye. 

"I promise you, not every child has to listen to their parents row every night like you did, Doyoungie. You've got a real chance here, to be happy. Even if it doesn't last, at least you can prove to yourself that it's never as bad as you think it'll be." 

Dongyoung drops his head even further, shrugs. "You're probably right." he mumbles. "I just don't know." Then he lets himself admit, "He makes me feel things I never wanted to feel. He's dangerous." 

Ten says, "No he's not," gently. "That's what you make yourself believe. He wouldn't hurt a fly and you know it." 

Dongyoung stands up suddenly. "I'm going to take a walk." he announces. "Just to clear my head." The effective combination of Yuta's tough love and Ten's gentle reasoning makes too much sense, and the implications are beginning to worm their way into his head, confusing him. 

Yuta wraps an arm around his shoulders, squeezing him once and then letting go. "Take as long as you need, just text one of us if anything happens or when you're on the way home." Dongyoung nods, heading towards the door. 

After walking for a while, he finds himself outside the café where he had been on Valentine's Day, with Taeyong. The memories send a jolt of pain through his body, but he decides to go in anyway. 

He realises it must be almost closing, because the only customers left in the place are three teenagers playing a board game, and himself. When he walks in, Taeil beams at him from behind the counter, asking, "What can I get you, Dongyoung-ssi?" 

After the initial surprise that Taeil remembers his name, he smiles back weakly, then studies the menu board. His eyes land upon one certain drink, one he remembers Taeyong having ordered, and he orders that, despite the pain it brings with it. 

Taeil tells him to go sit down, and that his drink will be brought to him, so he does, running a hand through his black hair and wondering why he thought it was a good idea to come here in the first place. 

A few minutes later, the teenagers leave, two of them walking very close together and saying, "Shut up, Hyuck" to the third in unison as they exit. "Hyuck" is boasting about having won the game, saying something along the lines of, "Renjun, you thought you were good at Monopoly? Move over, dude, because Lee Donghyuck's in town!" He pauses momentarily, turning back to look at the other boys. "And Jeno, let me tell you now never to bother playing again, you suck." Although the he does shut up very quickly when the taller of the two, who have now linked pinky fingers, mentions a boy named Mark.

Dongyoung chuckles a little at the boisterousness of the boy named Hyuck. He also wonders whether the other two are friends, or perhaps something more? In a country where being homosexual is something taboo, known but not readily accepted, it's hard to tell. He himself remembers wondering why his eyes were drawn to the boys rather than the girls in secondary school. Then again, he also remembers chastising himself for letting his eyes be drawn to anyone at all. 

As he's watching the boys leave, someone sits down in front of him, placing something on the table between them. Dongyoung whips his head around, heart in his throat. It's not Taeyong, like he irrationally feared ( _hoped_ ) it would be. It's Johnny, who pushes his drink across the table at him before he clears his throat, looking at Dongyoung pointedly. 

"He told you, didn't he?" Dongyoung asks dejectedly, before taking a sip of his coffee, holding it in both hands to absorb the warmth it gives off. 

"Of course he did." Johnny replies. "Did you expect him not to?" 

Dongyoung shakes his head minutely, lifting his cup and taking a long drink just so he doesn't have to talk. The pain in his tongue and throat feels strangely satisfying. 

Johnny just watches him for a few seconds, before he speaks again, tapping his fingers on the table to get Dongyoung's attention. "You know," he says, "we were hoping you'd be the one who would help Taeyongie finally get over Taeil-hyung." 

Dongyoung almost chokes on his coffee (his mind flashes back to when Taeyong did the very same thing), and when he regains his composure, asks wide-eyed, "You know? _Taeil-ssi knows_?" 

Taeil, who had previously been cleaning the place up, chips in. "You figured it out within minutes, didn't you?" When Dongyoung nods, he continues. "He's even easier to read when you've known him for over eleven years." He leans on his mop and sighs sadly. "We've-" gesturing to himself and Johnny, "we've been waiting for so long for him to find someone he can put all of his love into, and receive every bit of it back, like he deserves." After a cursory inspection of the café, he deems it sufficiently clean, lets the mop fall to the floor and slides into the seat next to Johnny, so that Dongyoung is now met with two expectant pairs of eyes on him. "From what Taeyong-ah has told us, we thought you were getting there." 

Dongyoung can't stand to look at them anymore, so he looks at the table instead. "Until I messed up." he mutters. "I'm sorry." 

Johnny says, "We also know that there's something you haven't told Taeyong yet that's stopping you from letting yourself accept your feelings." When Dongyoung looks up at him, he shrugs. "He's pretty perceptive." 

"What we mean to say," Taeil says, curling his fingers around Johnny's upper arm and leaning into him, "is that we know that you can fix this, if and when you let yourself. However," he fixes Dongyoung with a look that makes the younger man's spine stiffen almost immediately, "if you can't do this in time, make sure to inform Taeyong. Neither I nor Youngho will tolerate it if Taeyong gets hurt again. Do you understand?"

Dongyoung nods. "I understand." he says meekly. Then, feeling the need to clarify, he says in earnest, "I really do have feelings for him, that's why- that's why I'm in this mess in the first place." Both of the older men's expressions soften in sympathy, and Johnny says simply, "Give it a try. He's one of the nicest and most caring men you'll ever meet."

All Dongyoung can say is, "I know."

He leaves the coffee shop in even more turmoil, and when he takes his phone out to text the group chat with his best friends, he sees two messages.

They are from Taeyong.

im sorry

( _23:42_ )

we can forget about it

( _23:43_ )

Dongyoung doesn't know how to reply, so he puts his phone back in his pocket and forgets completely to text anyone.

He lets himself into the flat to the sound of laughter. Specifically, Yuta's laughter. The sound makes him smile, because at least someone is happy. Peeking around the corner into the living room, he finds the source of the laughter, and said source is laying on the sofa being tickled by a grinning Sicheng, who is leaning over him and saying, "He'll be back before you know it, stop being a worrypot." Then he looks up, spots Dongyoung, and smiles at him, ceasing his tickles in favour of nudging Yuta gently. The older man, oblivious as always, says, "Fine, I surrender, I won't worry anymore. You win." before noticing that he's been granted a reprieve and turning around to see Dongyoung smiling at the couple's antics. "Kim Dongyoung, you melodramatic piece of shit who doesn't text when he's supposed to, I was worried about you!" He half-yells, swatting at the air and simultaneously beckoning him over.

Dongyoung keeps his distance, knowing that Yuta is itching to smack him around the back of the head playfully. He quirks an eyebrow. "Evidently." Yuta does  _not_  appreciate the insinuation that Dongyoung makes when he gestures to the pair whose legs are still intertwined, so he detaches himself from Sicheng (who pouts but makes no verbal complaint) and stands up threateningly. "Winwinnie only came to drop off my phone charger-"  _Winwinnie_ , Dongyoung thinks,  _what kind of stupid nickname is that?_  "so shut it, you gigantic brat."

"Speaking of which," Sicheng says hastily, "I should get going. Jaehyun ordered takeaway."  _Takeaway at midnight?_   It makes no sense to Dongyoung, but the youngest offers no explanation. He stands up, kisses Yuta on the cheek, at which they both blush, and says, "Goodbye hyung." Then he turns to Dongyoung and nods at him, saying goodbye and asking that he tell Ten, who is asleep, that he said goodbye. Yuta follows him to the door demanding another kiss while Dongyoung settles onto the sofa. He shuts up abruptly, and Dongyoung can tell that Sicheng has granted his wish. They must kiss for a long time as it's well over a minute before the front door shuts and Yuta reappears, looking dazed.

That's when the taller man remembers the texts Taeyong had sent him, showing his phone to Yuta and asking him what to do and how to reply. "Well," the shorter man says after some thought, "how do you feel?"

"I... don't know." Dongyoung replies. "I need more time."

"Tell him that then." Yuta says, leaning back into the sofa, a smile of contentment on his face. No prizes for guessing what he's thinking about, Dongyoung thinks, as he tries to think about how to word his reply.

i need more time

( _00:16_ )

maybe i should do the presentation alone

( _00:16_ )

He gets a reply almost instantly.

if thats what you want

( _00:17_ )

Suddenly Dongyoung remembers talking with Taeyong on the phone, hearing his voice saying "Are you kidding? I have to be there!" and the words play on a loop in his head as he stares down at the words on his screen. He wants to take everything back, ask Taeyong to do the presentation with him and kiss him again and stay with him for as long as possible. He doesn't, as doing so could only hurt the both of them even more. He needs to be sure of his feelings.

 

 

Days and days later, having had no contact with Taeyong since that night, and feeling about as glum as could be, Dongyoung smiles, at the front of a full lecture hall.

"This presentation," he begins, "was prepared by myself and one other. Lee Taeyong. He couldn't be here today, because he actually attends a different class. The only reason we worked on this together, is that he walked into the wrong class at the very beginning of term and sat next to me. We were both too scared of Professor Do to say anything about it." He pauses, watches the class - and the professor in the corner - laugh, and forces a wider smile on his face after starting to let it slip whilst mentioning Taeyong.

Now for the big reveal - he wishes Taeyong were here to announce it with him.

"And the subject of our vocal project-" he switches on the projector, displaying a picture for all to see, "is Do Kyungsoo, although we know him as Professor Do."

Gasps break out throughout the room, before the hushed chatter starts. The majority of the class is saying the same thing Dongyoung had said when he first found out: how on earth did he manage to keep this hidden? Dongyoung sneaks a glance as Professor Do, to see him staring at the picture of himself with shock written all over his face. Then he launches into an in-depth analysis of his professor's vocal technique.

At the end of his presentation, he addresses Professor Do and says, "Professor, you requested something fun, so we prepared a fun fact as well." Then he turns back to the class. "Professor Do's husband, Kim Jongin, was a member of the same idol group before they disbanded. That wraps up our presentation. Thank you for listening."

The applause is almost deafening to Dongyoung, who deflates as soon as his job is done and wants nothing more than to go sit back down. As he trudges back to his seat, trainers scuffing the floor with every step, he wonders whether it would have been so exhausting had Taeyong been there to present with him, whether the smile would have been so forced.

He barely listens to the following presentations, and what he does hear, he does not comprehend.

 

 

After the class has finished, Professor Do approaches Dongyoung's desk, asking him to stay behind.

"How did you two find me?" He asks as soon as all the other students have left.

"The fifth page of Google Images can be useful sometimes." Dongyoung replies, guarded. He watches the young professor's face carefully, but finds no sign of anger, only surprise. "Why did you keep it hidden from us?"

Suddenly the older man's facial expression changes to one of sorrow. "When EXO disbanded, our entertainment company paid a lot of money so that there wouldn't be any media coverage, and the contracts we'd signed forbade us to talk about it in the event of this happening." He sighs, sinks into a chair. "I have no idea why I'm telling you this... but it was my fault."

"How? If you don't mind saying, of course..." Dongyoung can hardly imagine his stern but fair professor would do anything to put his group in jeopardy.

"I fell in love."  _Ah. That makes sense_. "Jongin and I were head over heels for each other, and the company found out. It wasn't pretty, and I'm not sure whether the rest of the group resent us for it. I haven't talked to them since, most of them stayed in entertainment." He looks up, right at Dongyoung. "It was a big risk, choosing Nini over the idol life, but somehow I don't regret it. I met the love of my life, and trying to ignore feelings does too much harm in the long run." Just as he says it, his phone buzzes. "That would be him. Sorry for keeping you, Dongyoung." He picks up the phone with a smile on his face, saying, "You wouldn't believe what happened in my class today."

Dongyoung walks away with a nod to the professor, who is more talkative than the student has ever seen him, chatting away about Dongyoung and Taeyong's project of all things. As he exits the building, hit by the rain of early spring, he thinks about everything that's been said to him.

_"You've got a real chance here."_

_"Give it a try."_

_"Trying to ignore feelings does too much harm in the long run."_

Suddenly, he knows what he wants to do.

He plucks his phone from his back pocket, shielding it under his jacket and cursing himself for forgetting to bring an umbrella. The first thing he does is pull up the group chat.

finally worked it out

( _12:07_ )

will be late home if everything goes well

( _12:08_ )

**Osaka prince <3**

u go girl! get ur mann

( _12:08_ )

**Chittaprat**

just use protection pls

( _12:09_ )

yuta did you change my fucking username

( _12:09_ )

lol thanks guys im off

( _12:10_ )

Dongyoung doesn't stick around long enough for Ten and Yuta to start squabbling about usernames, and he texts Taeyong.

we need to talk

( _12:11_ )

can i see you

( _12:11_ )

Taeyong doesn't reply straightaway like he normally does, which leaves Dongyoung thinking  _what if he doesn't want to see me what if I've really messed everything up_  but then his thoughts are allayed when he gets a reply.

meet me in the studio

( _12:14_ )

Dongyoung breaks into a run, he doesn't really know why but he does know that it's been far too long since he's seen Taeyong and he needs to see him, needs to hold his face in his hands and reassure himself that the older man is real and he can see him any time he likes. He needs to kiss him, to reacquaint himself with the taste of Taeyong's lips, to run his hands through his red hair and savour the moment that he never gave himself the chance to enjoy. Thoughts like these flood his head as he sprints through the streets, relying on sheer memory to take him to the man he wants to see the most.

  
When he gets into the building, he stops momentarily to rub his trainers on the mat, before running past the startled receptionist with a rushed "hello". Soon he is in front of the door to Taeyong's studio, and he takes a few deep breaths to regulate his heartbeat before knocking.

The door opens, and finally Dongyoung is looking at the man who has occupied his mind for the past two weeks. Taeyong looks at him, his face just as disarmingly handsome as it's always been, his red hair framing his godlike bone structure perfectly. For once, his expression is unreadable. The younger man knows he must look like a complete plonker, with his hair and clothes sopping wet and plastered to him, with a huge, dopey grin on his face. But he doesn't care at all, because who knew that being free to actually  _feel_ his  _feelings_ would be so liberating? So he steels his nerves, looks down, then, looking up at Taeyong through his eyelashes, asks, "Can I come in?"

Taeyong smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my thoughts about this chapter:
> 
> most of this was written at stupid hours of the morning oooops  
> nakamoto yuta/chittaphon leechaiyapornkul/seo youngho/moon taeil/do kyungsoo? legendss  
> also doyoung's flirting tactics are A* work it tokki - shame the author can't flirt to save her life lol
> 
> Hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment if you feel compelled to do so :)))))


	5. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of talking is done

He walks into the studio and Taeyong tells him to move his chair closer to the radiator, to dry off. Dongyoung thinks -maybe it's just wishful thinking- that he sees a ghost of a smile on the older man's face as he drags the chair over, not minding the squeaking sound like he would at any other time. Once he's done that, Taeyong sits on a chair in front of him, face impassive once again.

Dongyoung clears his throat, nerves kicking in as he looks at the face he wouldn't let himself appreciate for so long. "I think," he starts, "no, I know- I've got some explaining to do." He twiddles his thumbs, a nervous habit he really needs to get rid of. "I'm a bit of a cynic , about some things. One thing in particular." He looks down at his lap, not wanting to see Taeyong judging him for what he's about to say, what he's only told two people before. "My parents, they - they don't love each other anymore. Haven't since I was born. Only stayed together for their stupid _business_." He forces the words out of his mouth and knows they sound bitter.

"They told me I could find my own place to live after I told them I wanted nothing to do with Kim bloody Enterprises. As if I'm willing to spend my life slaving away like them!" Dongyoung scoffs. "They still send me money though. Probably want me to come crawling back asking for their forgiveness because they've been so _kind_ to me." He looks up at Taeyong, sees that his beautiful features are marred with sorrow. "Sorry, I went off on a tangent." Dongyoung mutters.

"I had to listen to them argue every night, about profits, about my older brother Donghyun, about me. Donghyun didn't stick around for long, left to become a celebrity. You might have heard of him actually, he goes by Gong Myung in the industry." He hears a soft intake of breath, indication that the red-haired man does recognise the name. But he doesn't stop his account. "One night they had a huge row, they were yelling and throwing things. It was unbearable. So... I promised myself I would never fall in love, if it only ends up like that." Now he dares to glance up, and Taeyong is looking directly at him, searching his face for something- what, Dongyoung has no clue. The eye contact makes him feel brave enough to now look directly at the older man, as he continues.

"When I first met you, you were _dangerous_. I was attracted to you - I mean, who wouldn't be, you're gorgeous, and the way you speak is just- Anyway," he stops himself, noticing that Taeyong is getting flustered, the tips of his ears pink as he looks away, "I didn't know what to do, so I picked fights. That's what I do, bicker with people." He chuckles. "Imagine how I felt when I didn't drive you away, but just brought you closer. But Yuta convinced me it was no big deal, so _I_ convinced _myself_ that I could just ignore it."

"In fact, it got harder and harder, until you were the only thing I could think about, but you know me," He puts away his nervousness to study Taeyong intently, sees that the corners of his lips are turning up in a smile, "I told myself it was mere friendship."

"And then you kissed me." Dongyoung reaches over to take the older's soft hand in his own, and realises that it's the first time he's ever initiated the gesture. "You kissed me, and it felt so nice that I got swept up in it." Taeyong's cheeks go pink, and it's so endearing that Dongyoung starts to smile despite the serious subject of their conversation. "Then I panicked, and I ran. I'm so, _so_ sorry for running, hyung. But I'm sure now, and I do want to be more than friends ... so does that offer for dinner still stand?"

Taeyong looks him directly in the eye, and his eyes are shining, fully expressing to the other his embarrassment and- blatant admiration, which in turn makes Dongyoung a little bit embarrassed himself. "You absolute numpty. Do you even need to ask?" He stands up then, taking hold of Dongyoung's other hand as well and pulling him up so they're both standing and looking at each other. The younger blushes at Taeyong's open scrutiny of his still-wet clothes and hair, and despite looking like a drowned rat, the shorter man whispers, "You're beautiful, Doyoungie." gazing directly into his eyes.

"Hyung," Dongyoung breathes, "so are you." Then he's closing the gap between them, fitting his mouth against Taeyong's like it's meant to be there, and oh, how he's missed this. The older man's hands find their way to Dongyoung's waist while the latter holds his face, marvelling in the soft skin under his fingertips, and they kiss softly, gently (he doesn't know about Taeyong but he wants to stay in this moment forever).

Soon enough, though, Taeyong breaks away, laughing, "You're soaked through." Dongyoung remembers that he is indeed soaked, wondering how it had slipped his mind. "Have you had lunch?" The taller shakes his head. "Perfect! I'll cook for you."

Dongyoung protests, but only half-heartedly, because he does want to see where Taeyong lives and eat his cooking. However, said man pays no attention to him anyway, saying, "Nonsense, I want to cook. I like cooking."

In which case, Dongyoung can only agree.

 

Some time later, Taeyong fishes out the keys to his flat as they get off his motorbike ( _"you too, hyung??!" "What have you got against motorbikes?" "They're death traps! You better not be a reckless driver like_ someone _I could mention!"_ ). He's laughing again, at his own joke, and Dongyoung, even though the joke was corny, can't help but love the sound of his laugh. When he manages to unlock the door, he ushers the younger in first, saying, "Welcome to my humble abode. Please make yourself at home." Dongyoung replies something along the lines of oh, he will, and settles into the surprisingly comfy sofa after the older man declines his offers of help in the kitchen. Of course, he doesn't stay there for long, sneaking up behind Taeyong to wrap his arms around him and peck him on the cheek. Taeyong calls him a sap but he's smiling even wider than Dongyoung so the latter thinks he has no room for accusation of any kind.

Then the door opens again, and Dongyoung studies his (boyfriend?)'s face as it contorts to one of confusion, then smooths out again. "Well, Doyoung-ah, there's no time quite like the present," he raises his voice, "to meet my gay baby cousin Donghyuck who lets himself into my flat whenever he wants."

From the entrance, someone shouts, "In all fairness, hyung, you should have known better than to give me a key. And Renjun and Jeno are a lot gayer than I am."

"But you know who's gay _for_ you?" Taeyong shouts back whilst Dongyoung tries to work out where he's heard that voice before and why the names Renjun and Jeno are so familiar. Then a head of orangey hair peeks around the door and his questions are answered. He detaches himself from Taeyong and stands up straight, saying hi to the boy Hyuck from the café weeks ago (praying that he won't say anything). Unfortunately, the boy opens his mouth.

"Hey, I know you!" He turns to Taeyong. "This guy was moping in Taeil-hyung's coffee shop a few weeks ago." Taeyong looks at him with one eyebrow raised and Dongyoung blushes, knowing that the former can easily figure out why. The youngest male present just continues speaking. "Besides, I know who you're talking about hyung, and Mark is  _straight_."

"Yeah, about as straight as a circle." Taeyong mutters, before leaning in and whispering, his breath tickling Dongyoung's ear, "Mark's had the biggest heart eyes for Donghyuck since he was thirteen and Hyuck was twelve, five years ago." Then his voice returns to its normal volume, and he addresses the both of them, "Go sit in the living room, I don't want any disturbances while I'm trying to make lunch." Dongyoung smiles at how easily the oldest changes his plans to include Donghyuck as well, and then follows the younger boy into the living room.

They sit on the sofa in silence for a minute, before Donghyuck speaks. "You seem like a great guy and all that, but if you hurt my Taeyong-hyung-"

"You don't need to worry about that," Dongyoung interrupts, smiling, "I have no intention of doing so." Donghyuck narrows his eyes, but must see the sincerity in his expression, because he soon relaxes and starts chattering nineteen to the dozen about his friend Jaemin, who recently got a girlfriend. By the time Taeyong shouts for them to help him with plates, Dongyoung has decided he likes this sassy and bold, but kind-hearted kid.

Lunch is amazing, and Dongyoung tells Taeyong just that, through a mouthful, before apologising for his bad manners. Taeyong laughs at him, and teases him about acting younger than Donghyuck, to which the latter agrees and joins in. The tallest can definitely see how the two are related, but the gentle teasing makes him grin even wider than he had been before.

Their little gathering is broken up when Donghyuck's phone plays a little jingle. Taeyong rolls his eyes, saying, "What does he want now?" Donghyuck blushes, mumbling something about going to meet 'him', whilst Dongyoung wonders how the eldest knew who had contacted Donghyuck. Taeyong notices his confusion as he always does, and taps his hand, once. "Donghyuck-ah has a _special ringtone_ for Mark." This provides an opportunity for Dongyoung to poke fun at the youngest as revenge, and Donghyuck sticks his tongue out before departing. Taeyong shouts, "Maybe he'll finally ask you out!" and Donghyuck replies from the hallway, "No chance!" before they hear the front door slam shut.

"I'll be on my deathbed before that boy learns to shut the door properly, I swear." Taeyong grumbles, making Dongyoung laugh, then turns to face the taller man. "How did the presentation go?"

Dongyoung sighs. "I wish you'd been there. Professor Do even came up to me afterwards and asked how we managed to find him, then told me how his group disbanded. He must have been really nostalgic if he was willing to reminisce in the presence of one of his students."

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah. I owe him, actually. And Ten and Yuta. Your friends too."

Taeyong hums questioningly at the mention of Taeil and Youngho, wrapping an arm around Dongyoung and kissing the younger's forehead. Dongyoung melts into his side at the action.

"They asked me whether I'd be the one to help you get over Taeil-ssi."

"Well you're certainly doing a good job of it." Taeyong replies, not sounding surprised about his friends knowing. "I'm getting there." Dongyoung senses a promise behind those words, and he moves even closer to the older, wondering if, when he gets close enough, he could permanently fuse himself to Taeyong.

"I should hope so." Dongyoung only realises just how tired he is when he closes his eyes, and with his head on Taeyong's shoulder, the latter's fingers carding through his black hair, he drifts off into a restful sleep.

 

He's woken up by a yell, and for a second thinks Yuta's upset about something, before he registers that he's fully clothed in an unfamiliar bed with the smell of Taeyong surrounding him. He fell asleep on Taeyong's shoulder and the shorter man must have carried him to his (very clean) room. As he gets up to investigate the source of the yell, he sees that the sky outside the window is dusky, meaning that he's been asleep for a while. He soon finds that the owner of the powerful voice that woke him up is Donghyuck, who is sat in front of the door and staring blankly into space.  When the boy notices him, he asks, "Where's Taeyong-hyung?"

"I don't know." Dongyoung answers truthfully. "I only just woke up."

Donghyuck snorts, "I can tell." but his heart doesn't seem to be in it. It's then that Dongyoung spots a post-it note stuck to the door, and he plucks it off. It's in Taeyong's distinctive handwriting, and it reads:

_Hey Sleeping Beauty,_

_I'm off to buy food, it shouldn't take long. If you want, you can stay for dinner, or I can drop you off at your place._

_From TY x_

The kiss makes Dongyoung smile, and Donghyuck must clock his expression, because he huffs. Then he asks, hesitant, "How long have you and Taeyong been...?" He doesn't finish his question, seemingly not able to find words, but Dongyoung gets the gist.

"Well, he asked me out a few weeks ago," he starts, trying to find the best way to describe the messy start to their ( _relationship?_ ), "but I- ran off. We've only just sorted things out today."

"That's funny," Donghyuck says, "I-"

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

"Doesn't really seem like nothing to me." Dongyoung sits next to Donghyuck, leaning his back against the door and showing him the note. "Taeyong-hyung isn't here, but if you want, I can try to help? At the very least, I'm a good listener, and I'm willing to lend an ear."

The younger boy smiles weakly at him. "Mark asked me out."

So Taeyong was right then.

"I didn't know what to say, and I didn't reply quick enough, so he just told me to think about it and left."

Dongyoung hums contemplatively. "Must have been quite a shock, huh?" Donghyuck nods. "Well, I imagine it would be. You thought he was straight, didn't you?" Donghyuck nods again. "Do you know how you feel about him?"

"Of course, I have for years, I just- never thought it would be requited."

"When you feel ready, tell him. That's all there is to it. If you've been friends for so long, I don't reckon it'll ruin your friendship at all, just... add something more to it." Donghyuck visibly relaxes, and Dongyoung takes that to mean he'd hit the nail on the head with regards to what the orange-haired boy was _really_ worried about.

Suddenly, they hear the jangle of keys, and they scramble up and off the floor in order to move away from the door in the three seconds it takes Taeyong to open it. The eldest stares at their faces suspiciously. "Were you sitting in front of the door?" Donghyuck shrugs, says briefly, "You were right hyung, gotta go!" before dashing out the door. Dongyoung watches him leave with a smile on his face.

"What was that about?" Taeyong asks. "I don't think he's _ever_ told me I'm right about anything, ever."

Dongyoung tells him about their discussion, and Taeyong says, "Fucking finally! Watching them dance around each other whilst being completely obvious was _painful_. He must have gone to Mark then."

Dongyoung nods, still tired, and he wraps his arms around Taeyong. "I should probably go back." He says through a yawn. "Yuta and Ten might wonder where I am."

The older pouts, but acquiesces, leading them outside and to his motorbike as he complains about having to eat alone- "I mean, I do most of the time, but now I know how great it is when I have you to eat with me, it's going to be even worse."

"Invite Mark and Donghyuck over so you can third wheel with teenagers." Dongyoung jokes, mentally preparing himself for having to get on the vehicle of death, even though, admittedly, he barely noticed the ride over to Taeyong's place. 

Taeyong doesn't bother to deign that with a reply, instead handing Dongyoung a helmet, and they get on the bike. The younger, naturally, tries to get as close to Taeyong as he can. He thinks he can put up with motorcycles for the feeling of being up against Taeyong's back, arms around his waist.

They pull up outside Dongyoung's block of flats far too soon, in his opinion, but it's made up for when Taeyong walks him up to his apartment, presses him against the door and kisses him silly, murmuring, "See you soon." onto his lips before turning and leaving.

After Dongyoung can no longer see Taeyong's back, he turns and unlocks the door, walking into the front room where Ten, Jaehyun and Yuta are playing Mario Kart. Yuta yells, "Eat shit, Jung!" as he hits him with a green shell, bursting his last balloon. Defeated, Jaehyun looks up from the screen and notices Dongyoung. No doubt registering the stupid grin and the messy hair, he asks -loudly, because everything Jung Yoonoh does is Loud- "Did you fuck?"

Ten immediately pauses the game and everyone is suddenly looking at Dongyoung as he vehemently denies, saying with indignation, "You think I'm that easy?"

"Aw, what a shame." Yuta says, teasing him again, and of course, Ten does too, and then Yoonoh, the one who started it all in the first place. Dongyoung has a very small urge to murder them all, why does he even hang out with such losers in the first place-

Until Ten holds a fourth controller out, and Dongyoung remembers that he's a loser too as he jumps into the heap of curse words and tangled legs. Yuta tries to sabotage him more than a few times, but luckily Dongyoung's an expert at avoiding his attempts to mess with his controller, and the Japanese man gives up and picks Jaehyun as his next victim.

In the end, Ten wins, because he's the resident Mario Kart pro, and Yuta sulks like he always does, picking up his phone to text Sicheng, who is out with friends, about his loss. Dongyoung cooks dinner, and he ends up having to fix his soup with lots of MSG. Nobody complains, though (he suspects they're just being kind). Soon after, he is the first to retire to bed, and the last thought on his mind before he falls asleep is the radiance of Taeyong's smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Half a year later, after countless dates and hugs and kisses, all is well with the world. Dongyoung finally has his flat to himself, Ten having moved in with Jaehyun, doing a roommate swap with Sicheng. The aforementioned man is on holiday with Yuta, and they'll be visiting each of their family homes in turn. The apartment building which had caught on fire has now been repaired fully, and is waiting for them upon their return. Dongyoung misses them all, but he's mostly just grateful for the peace.

Well, when Dongyoung says "to himself", that's not quite the truth. Taeyong spends a lot of time there. Take right now, for instance. Dongyoung has only just woken up, and he can hear a heartbeat from where he's been resting on the older man's chest, curled up into his side. Taeyong is still asleep, so he takes the time to enjoy the peace and quiet, and the sun peeking in between his curtains.

He knows that Taeyong has woken up when he feels a hand settle on this thigh. "Morning, my bunny. How long have you been awake?" Dongyoung doesn't think he will ever get over the gravelly sound of his boyfriend's voice first thing in the morning.

"Not long." He replies, rubbing his cheek against Taeyong's chest. The shorter man kisses the top of his head.

"Can we just stay in bed all morning?" he asks, trailing his fingers up and down the expanse of Dongyoung's bare thigh. The younger doesn't dare look at him, but he knows he's smirking. The burn of Taeyong's touch sends shivers up his spine like it always does.

"Not today," he reminds the now brown-haired male, "you've got cake tasting today."

Taeyong sighs. "I'd much rather stay here with you..." He drags his hand even further up Dongyoung's leg. The latter is in danger of reacting to it, so he swats the threatening hand away and turns to face Taeyong, tapping him on the nose lightly.

"You know they'd kill you if you didn't show up." Taeyong pouts, but nods. "They" refers to Johnny and Taeil, and Johnny's best friend Sehun, who are also tasting cakes to see which they like best in preparation for Taeil and Youngho's wedding in a month's time. Taeil had hesitantly asked Taeyong to be his best man, and Taeyong had agreed without any misgivings whatsoever, giving Dongyoung's shoulder a squeeze as he did so.

"I'd better start getting ready then." But Dongyoung keeps his head on Taeyong's chest, blocking the older man from getting up. "Hyung."

"What is it?" Taeyong looks down at him with such an expression of adoration that it makes Dongyoung feel like crying, because there's one thing that he still has yet to say, and he's surprised it's taken him so long.

"I love you."

So the guy who walked into the wrong class and disrupted his life in all the best ways has changed his mind after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH my word this has been a ride. I'm glad but also very sad that it's over :')  
> Thank you so much for all the positive feedback!! Your kudos and lovely, lovely comments have given me motivation to write this! Sorry if my writing hasn't done this prompt enough justice :)))))))))))))))))))))

**Author's Note:**

> This is only the first chapter, there’s a lot coming!


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